Announcement of an Interagency Initiative on Housing and Services for the Handicapped

The White House today announced the launching of a new interagency independent living initiative designed to foster the development of community-based housing and services that will enable handicapped persons to live more independently outside of institutional-type facilities.

The initiative, promised by the President in a speech last spring before the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, will utilize funds from existing Federal programs not previously targeted on independent living. Through the combined resources of seven agencies, over $80 million in ongoing program funds will be available to expand current independent living capability for the physically, developmentally, and mentally disabled.

ACTION, the Community Services Administration, the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Transportation will each be participating in this initiative.

The President is inviting each Governor to submit comprehensive letters of intent describing resource commitments and activities within their State devoted to independent living. On the basis of these letters, up to 15 States will be selected for participation in the initiative.

Within the selected States, project proposals will be solicited from local and State groups involved in addressing the needs of the handicapped. These proposals will describe how independent living projects would tap agencies' existing generic programs to meet independent living needs. The proposals will be reviewed first by a State panel, then by a Federal coordinating task force responsible for final selections.

Stuart E. Eizenstat, Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs and Policy, described the initiative as a "highly significant example of interagency coordination designed to encourage more effective utilization of existing program resources to serve handicapped persons."